What Is Cardiac Autonomic Neuropathy?

Autonomic neuropathy is a type of nerve damage that affects the proper functioning of organs that perform their work solely based on automatic nerve impulses. Cardiac autonomic neuropathy affects the heart in particular.

Causes

• Causes of cardiac autonomic neuropathy include alcohol abuse, diabetes, cancer, the build-up of harmful proteins in your body, a degenerative disease called multiple system atrophy, nerve injury due to an accident or surgery, chemotherapy, Parkinson's disease and HIV.

Symptoms

• Symptoms of cardiac autonomic neuropathy are blood pressure changes when you rise from laying down, dizziness when you stand up, hypertension, arrhythmia and slow heart rate, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Time Frame

• Normally, cardiac autonomic neuropathy gets worse over a long period of time, such as months or years.

Treatment

• Treatments for cardiac autonomic neuropathy include prescription medications such as fludrocortisone acetate or midodrine. In some cases, doctors recommend a high-salt, high-fluid diet, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Considerations

• The damage that causes cardiac autonomic neuropathy is not reversible, but it rarely is life-threatening, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.